Many devices are used for smoking meats and other food products. Generally, in such devices the meat will be subjected to heat, such as from a propane or natural gas burner, or from combustion source, most commonly a wood and/or charcoal fire. In many techniques, the heat will be supplemented with exposure of the meat (or other food) to smoke, either exclusively generated by the fire, or as supplemented with, for example, water-soaked woodchips of selected types to generate smoke, and to impart an associated flavoring to the food, during the cooking process.
A downside to conventional smokers and methods of their use is that it can take an extended time, up to several hours, to smoke the meat to a desired doneness. This long cooking time results from a combination of the typically low temperature required to smoke dense and/or relatively thicker cuts of meat so as to not overcook exterior portions while adequately cooking the interior portions.
Cooking of foods under pressure to accelerate the cooking process has been known in cooking foods using boiling liquid (for example, water) in a pressure cooker. In such cooking, as the liquid boils it raises the internal pressure. In a conventional pressure cooker, this raised pressure increases the boiling point of water or other liquid, and also forces the heated liquid into the food, accelerating cooking. However, such techniques have been limited to use of liquid-based cooking. Meats cooked in this process tend to be gray in color and not the appetizing brown color resulting from a traditional smoker.
In efforts to obtain some taste benefits of smoking meats with less time, techniques have been developed for partially cooking meat through two different processes in combination. For example, the meat may be initially cooked by a first technique, for example in a pressure cooker, or in an oven, typically generally elevated temperatures; and then moving the meats (or other food) to a grill or smoker to attempt to impart some of the flavors obtained with subjecting the need to a smoke-filled environment. Such techniques, while faster, have typically not provided the same taste or color as conventional slow smoking processes. Additionally, such processes are relatively cumbersome, requiring additional cooking equipment and transferring the food during the process. As a result, it would be desirable to have an apparatus capable of smoking meats under pressure, to accelerate the cooking, while maintaining the characteristics of the smoking process.